…determined NECESSARY!

As a business owner, you need to track your money. It’s absolutely necessary when measuring the fiscal health and well-being of your company. You can measure your success using accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, Fathom, etc. Get jiggy with those reports! They are fun and informative if you give them space in your world.

When you know what the numbers are doing, you can make better decisions about where you’re going, and how much it may cost. If you know bookkeeping, then your effort is really all about having the discipline to do the work – no matter how you may be feeling about your numbers at a given moment.

Not great at doing your own accounting?

We may be able to help, or recommend a good fit with one of our many Accounting Firm clients. Don’t waste the time struggling. Outsource and get consulting on the stuff that isn’t in your own wheelhouse. Contact Us.

Here at AVA, we love the digital world! Our task management, communications and file storage is all online. While we do believe digital is the way to go, we recognize not everything has to be virtual. Goal-setting is a great example of something where paper might just be more motivating! While there are a multitude of apps to help you reach goals and become more productive, having a physical journal works better for a lot of people. So we’re here today to show you some productivity journals that are just plain awesome.

1 – SELF Journal

This journal is not for the faint of heart. With a double page spread for every day (includes space to block time and jot your top 3 to-dos, wins, and gratitude for the day), this journal makes sure you take this goal seriously! I’ve also heard rumors that with the purchase of the journal, you get access to the private motivational Facebook group BestSelf Alliance. This journal is also unique in that it is based on the 13-week planning method.

This journal is a little more condensed than the SELF journal, with one day per page. It includes much of the same: time blocking, Top 3 To-Do, gratitude). Unlike the SELF journal, the Day Designer is dated, which may be a con for some. What it does have that the SELF doesn’t is a huge variety of colors and styles!

This planner from Intelligence Change is a nice combination of features from the first two planners we’ve mentioned. It has a one day per page layout, but is also undated.This planner has more of a focus on time tracking, and uses the Pomodoro technique. We like the inspirational quotes too!

This journal is your daily guide for accomplishing a goal in 100 days. It has less space for time blocking and more for tackling the mental roadblocks to your goal. Each two page spread has morning planning on the right, and nightly review questions on the left. It also has quarterly reviews – and access to a private Facebook page as well!

I have to say, the information in this book THRILLS me! With every turn of the page, I’m learning something new or reevaluating something I’ve already known. Here’s a quote that I have written on the whiteboard, here in the AVA office:

“Your time is a measure of commitment, concern, and efficiency, not just quantity.”

This is huge! How have I not tried to measure time in these ways before? As a Virtual Assistant and business owner, I have prided myself on keeping time and making sure that I honor and respect time around others, task assignments, you name it… but measuring it in terms of commitment level, how concerned you may or may not be – wow!

Virtual Assistants care about time in many ways that others don’t often consider. Time may be precious but it is also abundant. I just attended a webinar demonstration where I was learning about KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and financial tracking methods. The host kept saying “we’re all time poor”, and “…because I’m time poor”. Those statements rubbed me a bit raw somehow. My EFT practitioner would indicate that feeling “time poor” has to do with old mental/emotional programming. The Virtual Assistant brain wonders why that webinar host doesn’t just higher a VA in another timezone, so she might add a few more hours to her work day. After reading the book “100 Simple Secrets…” and specifically that quote… I also wondered what she could possibly be doing, that sucked up her time, making her poor of time.Fascinating, how the wisdom/ignorance of others can drastically change your entire world.

Try this: Measure your time by how much you care. Give your activities a 0-10 rating. Does time slow down or speed up when you care about something? How is it when you care less? Perhaps there’s something in your nature that converts/measures time differently than the person standing next to you.

IVAA Speaker – Audrey Isbell

Testimonials

I’ve had Audrey and her team work on several projects for my business, Apland’s Auto Body. AVA is creative and efficient. Sometimes you have a problem you don’t know how to solve. AVA is able… (Read more) “AVA makes me look good”

Love AVA. Very personable and professional. I don’t know what I would do without their help. I would recommend them to anyone who needs assistance with social media results, administrative tasks and anything else related… (Read more) “Very personable and professional”

AVA Virtual Assistance rocks our world! They are highly professional, attentive to every little detail, and their insight is keen to client needs. We are tickled with our TABulated Consulting webpage, and our continued involvement… (Read more) “Their insight is keen to client needs”

Stop pulling out your hair and let Audrey help your business get back in order order and stay there. Check out her website and just look at everything she does, it’s amazing. She is a… (Read more) “A huge asset”

AVA is a rock star team of über responsive professionals. I have been working with them for my bookkeeping needs for just a few months now and I am excited to finally have the freedom… (Read more) “AVA is a rock star team”